LONDON, Oct 2: Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal led the Gandhi Jayanti tributes in London on Wednesday, including a rendition of Bapu’s favourite bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ to commemorate the 155th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
The annual Indian diaspora gathering at the iconic Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square in London, assembled by the Indian High Commission in London and India League, included floral tributes at the memorial and addresses embodying Gandhiji’s message of peace and non-violence.
Besides it being marked as International Day of Non-Violence, the minister also highlighted the tenth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched on Gandhi Jayanti by Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in 2014.
“We often hear about Mahatma Gandhi’s great thoughts such as truth and non-violence. But another great thought, I feel, was about public participation in pursuit of cleanliness and sanitation,” said Meghwal, in his address in Hindi.
“His idea was simple: that wherever we are in society, whichever part of the planet, we should maintain cleanliness. Mahatma Gandhi was the best communicator, giving the world such a simple and enduring message that it is our responsibility to clean up our own mess,” he said.
“The whole world knows of this man, who was unlike another. No wonder, the United Nations decided to mark International Day of Non-Violence as a tribute to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary,” the minister added.
Councillor Eddie Hanson, the Deputy Mayor of Camden – the borough where Tavistock Square is located, used his address to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi for his inspiration to movements of civil rights and social change across the world.
“Mahatma Gandhi remained committed to his belief in non-violence even under oppressive conditions and in the face of insurmountable challenges. Today, we commemorate the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, who through his example proved that peaceful protest could accomplish much more than military aggression,” said Hanson.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami reflected upon the trajectory of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s life that led to him to acquiring the status of a Mahatma.
“His life is a lesson for all of us, that if we care to make the effort, if we care to understand other people, if we care to learn from the environment around us, there is the inner Mahatma within all of us,” said Doraiswami.
“When he talked about the charter of rights, Mahatma Gandhi said that duties must come first because if you do not have a sense of obligation towards other people, do not care about the lives of other people, then you will never be able to transcend the boundaries of religion, language, caste… and that leads of conflict,” he added.
The event concluded with students of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London delivering their rendition of ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ and ‘Vaishnava Jan’, followed by a Buddhist prayer for global peace and harmony.
The gathering at Tavistock Square then moved to the Gandhi statue at Parliament Square for another round of floral tributes, led by British Indian peer Lord Meghnad Desai. (PTI)
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